12 Years a Slave (2013) - Where to Watch, Reviews, Trailers, Cast - Watchmode

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Free black man kidnapped, sold into slavery. A battle for survival and dignity unfolds; ideal for history and drama enthusiasts.

Genres: Drama, History

Cast

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12 Years a Slave(2013)

Movie2h 14mEnglishDrama, History
8.2
User Score
96%
Critic Score
IMDb

Where to Watch

Overview

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

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Featured Comments/Tips

Unlike some people I didn'#39;t see anything mindblowing in the movie... I figured that much from the first minute. Guess who did the score? Hans Zimmer. How can you tell? When the fucking Inception tune is horning. What further could you do to alienate me right away? Adjust the colors so that some of the people onscreen have orange skin!? Well, the good thing is that it isn'#39;t riding too hard on the white guilt but still, even the '#34;nice'#34; slave-masters are inheretly immoral. Can'#39;t say much about the adaptation as I'#39;m not familiar with the source material but we don'#39;t really get much from Solomon'#39;s character except for the odd nod that he is a superior slave or at least entitled given his background (as wrong as this sounds)... There was the lack of weight of the 12 years as we can'#39;t keep track of time except for the nature changing and but it'#39;s still rather episodic. The acting is one of the better parts although the movie would have benefited from a lesser known cast. Brad Pitt was totally out of place (he was the Producer w/e) and for example Danno'#39;s little song was more a bad joke than anything thanks to his general persona. Despite some good scenes I just never really got into it so the whole affair felt longer than it should have been. This is basicly my Lincoln of 2013.

McQueen'#39;s epic is beautiful and tragic anchored by sensational performances.

Above average, extremely disappointing considering all of the hype surrounding this movie. There are moments where the directing and acting are spot on and then there are moments where it gets almost comically ridiculous. It doesn'#39;t introduce anything new and I felt like none of the characters were flushed out fully. It was very half-assed for a movie that'#39;s well over two hours long

A touching story.

Masterful use of lingering unhurriedly for an extended time on single shots/scenes. Everything was allowed to thoroughly sink in during such shots. With such focused deliberation, one'#39;s not able to quickly or easily escape so many gripping and compelling moments.

A heavy, powerful watch if not in any way an enjoyable one. Similar to Schindler'#39;s List in a way, in that it'#39;s important material that'#39;s well-acted and deeply moving, but also very tough to get through in places. That comparison isn'#39;t completely fair, of course. Though Chiwetel Ejiofor serves well in the leading role and Lupita Nyong'#39;o is memorable (if one-note) in support, there is no Liam Neeson-level central performance in this picture and the cast very quickly falls into camps of good and evil with little middle ground. Michael Fassbender fares best as the deeply troubled alcoholic slave-owner Epps, but he'#39;s present largely to be despised and as such his character lacks a thorough inspection. The other name actors, shoehorned in as bit roles, only serve to distract. We can slap an Amish beard on Brad Pitt and throw him onto a plantation, but it'#39;s still Brad Pitt in those suspenders and there'#39;s no getting around that. Well shot and expertly directed, it hammers predictably on the same point from start to finish. This is meaningful, often chilling work, but not something I'#39;m going to feel compelled to revisit in the very near future.

I’ve never seen a movie that moved me so much as this one did, There was so much different emoticons that I felt for this movie. I had heard of this movie a long time ago, but I never gave so much thought to it. It’s one of those movies that you just can’t pause or look away from, you’ve to keep watching so you’ll how it ends. Because you genuinely care about how everything will turn out for the man in the end. :hearts:︎ I bet the book is amazing too, please give this movie a go if you haven’t, you’ll be hooked!

A truly devasting story that can be hard to watch. Great cast and fantastic acting all around. McQueen really shows his talent here. Cinematography is great really beautiful film filmmaking wise, disturbing story wise.

A powerful and brutal film. Steve McQueen must enjoy making everyone that watches his movies uncomfortable. The acting all around is fantastic, there were so many well known actors. Chiwetel Ejiofor was truly a standout. The cinematography was amazing. It really puts you up close and personal. That one whipping scene was shot beautifully even though it was showing something terrible.

As the most important law freedom from the beginning had the highest price. But only a few of us can afford it fully.

Twelve years a slave is really beyond the story-line of 'twelve years' slavery, punishment and intense of captivity, as portrayed on Solomon's countenance at the end. Do be warned, this movie is not for the faint hearted and does at points make you embarrassed of humanity.

Acting was awesome! Music too But the movie should take 12 years but we can't track it. No ageing happen in Solomon's face or shape.

A raw, impactful and educational film, about the struggles and horrendous experiences of enslaved black Americans, that's captured via great cinematography

I would not categorize this as a bad or even awful movie. It's just that, despite the seriousness of the story, on an emotional level I never connected with the character. And without that it doesn't work. I didn't know enough about the character as things happening very fast from the start of the movie. Also never felt hatred or detestation against the people who did wrong by him. It was also difficult to track the time. It did not feel like 12 years. Unlike _Detroit_ or _Selma_ that really moved me, or made me angry, _12 Years a Slave_ just went by me.

Spoilers

Probably the only bad thing about the movie is I didn’t see it sooner

Featured User Reviews

Sometimes, I just have to stop my brain in the middle of a film and just admire its exceptional craftsmanship. I found myself doing that time and time again during this film. Perhaps I was more open to admiring the shot compositions and acting choices because, as I cynically told myself before the film, it's not like I needed much convincing that slavery was bad. Or perhaps it was because I was shielding myself from the honest brutalities the film convincingly portrayed. Nonetheless, I was reminded of the film "Children of Men," because when I watched that, I was struck by how easily I could imagine a less engaging, more dumbed-down version of the same film. I haven't seen enough films about slavery to know this for certain, but I suspect that because many of this film's principals are British, telling a story about a free man who was forced into slavery, as opposed to one born into it, they were able to be gain some valuable distance from the subject and craft something that's both beautiful and feels true to life. And even though I thought I could not have been made to feel worse than I already did about slavery, the post-scripts on the lack of justice Solomon received for his kidnapping and the unknown causes of his death, helped keep the film from lapsing into a kind of "triumph of the spirit" happy ending others might have imposed.

This movie is very, very well done. Well, edited and with the proper long shots at the proper moments bringing you to the life of Solomon without remedy. All the cast performs exceptionally well and Ejiofor is to be remembered for this film. A must to be seen.

Not in a long time have I seen a movie that brings out real emotions from my cold hearted soul. This movie brought them out in floods of tears. the acting was superb, especially from the lead Chiwetel Ejiofor, he acted from his little toe right up to his eyes. The style was also filmed beautifully with some (extremely) painful long shots which pulled you into Solomons nightmare. Im not sure if its a film I could watch again, purely for the emotion but I would recommend this film to everyone.

**Dreaded at the thought that human kind ACTUALLY had this kind of livelihood at some point of time..** Could not gather my thoughts to write this review at the end of the movie.Feeling really bogged down by some heaviness on my chest. Thinking about the times in history when we actually used to do these atrocities on other human beings makes me cringe.To imagine waking up one day and find me in chains just because I'm a colored man and living my life like an unwanted child of god makes me question humanity altogether. Just sitting through a little over than 2 hours and watching this movie made my heart bleed, I can't even begin to think of the people who lived their entire lives as SLAVES... 12 years a slave heart breakingly makes you feel the pain and suffering of almost the entire human kind at one point of time or other. Direction by Steve McQueen is brilliant.Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a helpless slave in Solomon Northup to the hilt and also the small but impactive role played by Brad Pitt as a man with conscience is superb.Lupita Nyong'o's Patsey too was depicted heart warmingly. You can't help but question yourself that how could MAN stoop such low and do these cruel acts and that too over such a prolonged period of time without even a single ounce of doubt in his mind for what he would have to pay for his actions.. All in all a GEM of a movie showing one of the lowest point in human history !

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